What age for a Tablet?

[KerryLee17]

What age for a tablet or ipad?

Hubby and I disagree and I was wondering what others thought.

If you pick something else pls try to explain

[mendala]

For use with parents or on their own?

[Ingalls]

I think any age is fine for a tablet as long as the parents are putting limits on how much time is spent on it and what content is on it.
We got ds a laptop at age ten. We didn't put enough limitations on it. We started good but got lazy about it. I felt like oh, he's fine, let him play if it makes him happy, he's stuck
here with two younger sisters who fight a lot and it amuses him so it's fine. But it got so it wasn't fine, and he became addicted to the internet and/or video games. We're dealing with
the aftermath of that, now.
My youngest wants soooo badly to play on tablets or phones. I have games on my iphone that I got in August and still have not told her I put them on it. I'm afraid once I do, it is all I will
hear from her. But I need to teach her moderation so I will eventually let her use it, but she is going to have to learn that she gets it say on three days of the week for half an hour, and no more.
She's four.

[Mum09and11]

I said 7-9 even though my 4 and 6 year old use one. There are a lot of kid games on there and mostly they just watch netflix. The only reason I say older is because they are breakable and expensive. I guess it depends what they will be using it for, my kids don't know how to use the internet so that's not an issue.

[KerryLee17]

It would only be under my supervision, hubby doesn't notice anything once he turns on the TV

[melissawilliam]

I used to think children should be older, as DS1 got a tablet at age 8 when I knew he could use it on his own, and I didn't think young children should use electronics. I downloaded k-nine (I think) so he has to use it for the internet, so it prevents him opening porn on the internet. He got his own ipad last year, at age 11.

DS2 is 4 years old and loves my ipad. I have a high quality cover so it shouldn't break. The password is the first 4 letters of DS1's name and DS2 can now type it - and he can't spell any words yet! I have some math games that were free for partial, so he is learning.
I have also downloaded library books for him - but have to be right with him so he doesn't touch my library books I am currently reading!
What he really loves is a hidden object and puzzle game, with a plot. It is a really good one and cost me almost $10. He played it with me one time from start to finish, and now it is about his 3rd time playing the entire game on his own (he usually just waits and skips the puzzles, but likes the hidden object parts and moving around parts, just asks for help to read what it says).

[LaLa]

I said under 6. Hubby and I both have laptops and therefore don't use tablets. We got a tablet for our 3 year old so that he could play some learning games. He plays a couple of times a month for maybe an hour max. 9/10 he will go for pretend play and imaginative play toys rather than the TV or tablet, but we got it for him to introduce the concept of a tablet. At school he uses a tablet occasionally.
Myself and hubby both are pretty techy and 'connected' so we think it's important for kids to learn about technology but also the limits that goes with it. We spend a lot of time outside, on day trips and giving our kids life experience so the balance of technology for us is OK. My kids are the ones who go outside and can amuse themselves with some grass and leaves for an hour so when they use a tablet for an hour it's not too much. We've haven't yet dealt with any fuss about having to put the tablet away, or to turn the TV off halfway in a show but I'm sure at some point we will deal with something. I'm pretty relaxed in general though, my kids are the ones who get unlimited candy whenever they want and yet only choose to take 1 piece so I'm hoping when it comes to technology they can learn to balance it for themselves too.

[one ordinary girl]

My youngest bought her own ipad when she was 7. She got her first ipod at age 4. We travel a lot and I felt this was a great option for being entertained in the car. Many kids her age and younger have DS's and I felt the ipod was a better investment.She's now almost 9 and uses if for school. Her class uses google classroom and google docs, slides etc... in class and this allows her to complete work at home if she chooses.

There are some great learning apps and fun things to do on tablets. I used to download interactive books for my 4 yr old to read along with. They were great. Like anything as long as they are used in moderation no harm is being done. And most school are adding them to learning tools in the classroom.

[Sunrise]

If you had asked me a few years ago I would have said 9+. Then we got a few iPads. The apps that are for aged 4, 5, 6 year olds are fantastic. We play all of the apps with our 4.5 yr old before we let her loose with them. She's great with them and we only download educational apps. She started JK knowing how to write all of her letters, her name, and is able to do simple math and matching. We love playing it with her, and there's a few apps that she'll play all by herself.

I think that they can be a great educational tool when used with a parent.